DSS Alerts Of Plot To Cause Mayhem After Guber, Assembly Polls

The Department of State Ser­vices (DSS) has alerted the public of orchestrated plans by some persons to cause a total breakdown of law and order in the country shortly after the March 18, 2023 Gu­bernatorial and State House Assembly elections.

In a statement by Peter Afunanya, Public Relations Officer, DSS, he drew at­tention to the unnecessary palpable political tension in parts of the country prior to the elections under reference.

“It is observed that some of the players are at daggers drawn with one another. The development holds dire con­sequences for national peace and stability.

“It is in view of these that the service warns politicians and their supporters to en­gage constructively. Everyone is advised to shun fake news, hate speech and such other ut­terances that may be inimical to peaceful co-existence.

“Election should not be seen as a do or die affair. There is no basis for anyone to take laws into their hands. This is even more so that aggrieved persons can take advantage of our courts and seek redress. We should have faith in our institutions”, DSS said.

He said over this election period, the service has re­mained committed to provid­ing conducive environment for a peaceful exercise, noting that in this regard, it separate­ly and in collaboration with sister agencies, carried out mop up operations to thwart nefarious plans and activi­ties of undesirable elements to out rightly undermine the electoral processes.

“For hitch-free Guberna­torial and State Assembly elections, the service has partnered with relevant stake­holders to ensure that the re­quired peace is maintained before, during and after the exercises.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the service will work to make sure that no person or group, no matter how highly placed disrupts the scheduled elections in any part of the federation. It is committed to the safety and security of cit­izens who may wish to go out to exercise their civic respon­sibility. All and sundry are, therefore, enjoined to abide by the rules of engagement par­ticularly the Electoral Act and extant guidelines”, he said.

Similarly, the Deputy In­spector General (DIG) of Po­lice, Hafiz Inuwa, has said the police will be ruthless with “anybody who decides to test our collective responsibility as a nation”.

DIG Inuwa, who is in charge of Training, Force Headquarters, Abuja, and the North Western geopo­litical zone of Nigeria, stat­ed this to journalists after his meeting with political party leaders and other stakeholders at the police officers mess on Wednesday in Kaduna.

“We will not allow mis­conduct, we will be ruthless to anybody who decides to test our collective responsibility as a nation.

“We will be ruthless to any­body or group of people we see carrying arms, if anybody or group is caught, they will have themselves to blame,” he warned.

He quoted the Inspector General (IG) of Police as having instructed them to go around and sue for peace, especially at such a critical period when gubernatorial elections would hold in a few days.

He noted that they would meet with critical stakehold­ers such as politicians, reli­gious leaders and journalists, among others, to sue for peace in the country.

He added that the police have put in place strategies to ensure peaceful conduct of the gubernatorial elections.

“Additional policemen have been posted to Kaduna in order to provide more se­curity for the conducts of the elections,” he said.

Inuwa further said, “Nige­ria belongs to all of us and it is our civic responsibility to en­sure that it remains peaceful by coexisting and cohabiting together as one indivisible Nigeria.”

The DIG assured Nigeri­ans that their rights to vote would not be tampered with, pledging to provide the en­abling environment for peace to enable them to exercise their franchise.

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